To get inspiration for themes and activities as we develop the new Spark!Lab, the team has been taking "field trips" to different collections areas in the Museum. Here are some highlights from our visits to the Physical Sciences and Medical collections.

On a recent research trip to Minnesota for "Places of Invention," I had the special opportunity to meet one of the region’s pioneers, Manuel (“Manny”) Villafaña. You may not know his name, but you’ve probably heard of at least one of the seven medical-device companies he has founded in Minneapolis, including Cardiac Pacemakers Inc. (CPI) and St. Jude Medical.

Like more famous garages in Silicon Valley that begat Apple and Hewlett Packard, the former 800-square-foot garage in Minneapolis served as a convenient, no-rent location for Palmer Hermundslie and Earl Bakken to found Medtronic in 1949.